This Healthy Corner Store Project has brought over 2000 lbs of locally grown, farmers market quality, fruit and vegetables to communities who need, and may not otherwise have access to, healthy options.
This project’s goal is to build relationships between corner store owners and local small farmers. By incentivizing and assisting corner stores in sourcing healthy we aim to increase the availability of quality food to improve the health of the community.
Huskey’s 97 Market in Moro has joined the Healthy Corner Store Project, bringing locally grown fruit and vegetables into Sherman County.
Access to healthy food gets harder the more rural you are. Gorge Grown Food Network’s Healthy Corner Store Project is partnering with Huskey’s 97 Market to stock locally grown fruit and vegetables meeting the needs Moro community members, Veggie Rx recipients, and travelers alike.
Huskey’s 97 Market Owner Carey Hughes is excited about this new initiative, “I’m happy that my customers are able to have access to fresh fruit and vegetables. Everyone from children to seniors are benefitting from Veggie Rx here in Sherman County, and with the support of the Healthy Corner Store Project we are able to have more variety, and fresh locally grown produce at a good price for our customers”. Carey’s produce case now is stocked with in-house made fresh grab and go fruit and veggie cups, cooking staples like onions and potatoes gown by Nature’s Finest in Parkdale and you can also find seasonal items like hot peppers and tomatoes from the Wahtonka Community School Garden and PrairieFish Farm and Craft.
More than 2,000 pounds, and 22 varieties of locally grown fresh farmers’ market quality produce has been sold through Allen’s Food Center and La Michoacana in The Dalles, and now Huskey’s 97 Market in Moro. “It’s all about making healthy choices easy and accessible, especially in food desert neighborhoods with low access and rural communities” says Silvan Shawe, Healthy Corner Store Project Manager. The pilot Healthy Corner Store Project runs through December 2017 and Gorge Grown Food Network is working to raise additional funds to keep the project going, and expand into more stores throughout the gorge.
Support for this project comes from The OHSU Knight Cancer Institute Community Partnership Program, which is designed to build sustainable collaborations with Oregon communities by providing grants and other resources to foster development of community-identified cancer prevention, early detection, treatment and survivorship projects. The OHSU Knight Cancer Institute has made a decade-long commitment to invest in this program to develop robust, sustainable programs that benefit the health of all Oregonians. Huskey’s 97 is located at 106 Main St, Moro, OR.